IMPROVING SOCIALISATION & RESILIENCE SKILLS

In a dog training context, socialisation refers to teaching a dog the life skills needed to live happily within their environment and to communicate effectively with their social groups - which includes both dogs and people. Socialisation is all about building positive experiences and helping a dog to become confident around all of the things they will meet in daily life.

Resilience in dogs is the development of their ability to cope and adapt to situations of stress or adversity and is something that should develop right from the moment the puppy is born in line with their sensory awareness.

A puppy's cognitive development and their ability to cope with new situations throughout their life are affected greatly by their earliest sensory experiences. Breeders can help puppies to develop these vital coping mechanisms by ensuring puppies get to use their senses in varied and positive ways. In addition, to contact with the mother and siblings, puppies benefit from opportunities to walk on different surfaces, and play with various toys that feel different or make different sounds.

Long-term and permanent damage can be caused during a puppy's earliest weeks which is why dogs from puppy farms can be more challenging to socialise even if they luck into a perfect owner at 8 weeks!

Resilience and socialisation are both essential to a dog's ability to function happily throughout their life and both go hand in hand. Socialisation will be more challenging for a dog who has not developed resilience. However, whether your puppy has had the perfect start to life, or you are concerned that your dog has not, here are some things you can do to help them:

• Teach your dog to use their nose - simple exercises such as treasure hunts for treats are great!
• Encourage your dog to walk on varied surfaces - bubble wrap, grass, pavement, take them to the seaside, and paddle in the water.
• Use toys to vary sensory experiences with differing feels, sounds, and textures.
  
• Ensure that your dog sees all kinds of different things - balloons, cars, bikes...anything a bit different.
• Get your dog used to seeing children - even if you have kids, it is a good idea to get your dog used to both seeing and meeting other children - especially children who are playing. Your dog doesn't need to join in but getting them used to walking past play parks in a calm manner is handy.
• Moving objects can be challenging for many dogs - cars, bikes, footballs....the desire to chase these things often becomes more apparent once a pup approaches adolescence. So taking a puppy to see all these things is important but owners will need to continue this part of socialisation beyond those early months.
• It goes without saying that puppies need to BOTH meet other dogs as well as get used to walking past them without becoming distracted. As with everything else - socialisation skills need to be practiced beyond those first weeks of puppy ownership and should be a regular or daily fixture through their first year with continued practice through life.
• Puppies benefit from meeting lots of different people AND in different settings and they will need to continue to have exposure to unfamiliar people throughout their life. Owners should take opportunities to have their dog meet other people in both private and public places.
• Regular grooming is so good for dogs in so many ways - even if you use a groomer or have a dog whose coats requires little attention I would advise a weekly groom, check over as well as open the mouth to check teeth - if possible, try and give your dog a quick brush over most days as well.   This keeps your dog accustomed to being handled and once your dog is happy with this then get sensible friends to handle your dog too. This will reduce stress at the vets and avoid a common problem where dogs suddenly decide they don't want to be handled as they approach adulthood.  
• Boost your dog's self-confidence, self-control, and ability to cooperate with you through obedience training and interactive training games - this will also improve their ability to learn new things and benefit from mental stimulation.
• Take your dog out and about - dog shows, fairs, cafes, on the bus, to the park, to work to dog training. Build up the variety bit by bit.

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If your dog is a nightmare to socialise or take to different places then you might need to put some other skills in place first such as improving your dog's ability to focus on you, trust you, and be influenced by your guidance. From this standpoint, you are in a position to start gradually building up your dog's confidence and trying all of the above one step at a time.

No matter the stage your dog is at, it is always best to place a dog in a position of success - make it easy for them to win. If your dog is nervous of children running around then allow them to observe from a distance at which they are comfortable. Decrease the distance at the dog's pace - increase the distraction according to their ability to cope. Build up confidence at the dog's pace.

Consistency is key and the best way to get a dog used to things is to do a little every day WHILE avoiding overwhelming the dog. So, if your dog is nervous of children or play parks then DO take a walk to observe the play park from a distance and do it every day BUT DO make sure that the walk also includes loads of the activities that your dog enjoys and finds easy. This way every walk becomes a happy experience and all of the tricky bits become normal.
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It is true that the better the puppyhood, the easier it is to achieve a happy, well-adjusted pet dog. Sadly many dogs have a far from ideal puppyhood and although this does cause challenges it is also true that it is never too late to make improvements and help your dog to live a happier life with you.